4th of July Weekend – 2019 NYC event guide

With the Fourth of July on a Thursday this year a lot of people have Friday off, too, making for a very desirable four-day weekend. In NYC for it? While the week of the Fourth is rarely overflowing with big-ticket concerts, there is also rarely a lack of quality options and this year is no different. Here are our suggestions for music, comedy and parties this long holiday weekend. You could also beat the heat and head to the movies — Midsommar (the creepy new film from Ari Aster who made Hereditary) and Spider-Man: Far From Home are both out this week. You could also just stay home and binge the third Season of Stranger Things or catch up on Los Espookys. Check out our picks for Independence Day Weekend shows below.

THURSDAY JULY 4

Watch the Fireworks
It’s an Independence Day tradition and there are few bigger fireworks displays than the one Macy’s puts on every year. The 2019 edition happens downtown, and there will be a “fireworks waterfall” stretching across the Brooklyn Bridge, plus a new effect called “Revolving Dragons” that we’ve been waiting our whole lives to see (despite only hearing of it this week). You can also catch fireworks at Coney Island and Jersey City.

The Day Party with J. Cole @ Brooklyn Mirage
The Day Party at Brooklyn Mirage debuted last year with Drake and Virgil Abloh, and it returns this year to celebrate the Fourth of July. The headliner is J Cole, who normally performs at much larger venues, and whose label Dreamville is releasing its anticipated new Revenge of the Dreamers III this Friday. Will some of his Dreamville pals (or non-Dreamville pals) make surprise appearances at this show? It wouldn’t be the first time this year that NYC hosted big, surprise guests at a Dreamville-related show.

July 4th IndepenDANCE @ House of Yes
House of Yes’ annual 4th of July Extravaganza merges with their weekly Dirty Thursdays party for an even bigger than usual night of revely and dancing. It’s free entry with RSVP and 15% of the bar’s proceeds will go to the ACLU to help fight for abortion rights.

Wand, Dreamdecay, Jobs @ Elsewhere Rooftop
With their new album Laughing Matter, Wand left the garage behind and head to the stratosphere on this sprawling, personal gamechanger of a record. As great as the new album is, Wand are even better live and should sound great as the sun sets behind them on Elsewhere’s roof.

Kelly Lee Owens (DJ set) @ Elsewhere Hall
If you wanna keep the party going at Elsewhere, the great Kelly Lee Owens will be spinning in the venue’s main hall (she also plays as part of MoMA PS1 Warm-Up on Saturday).

Roni Size @ Sunnyvale
Drum’n’bass icon Roni Size, whose debut album New Form was a game changer in dance music, kicks off his short North American tour tonight.

SubZero, Ramallah, No Redeeming Social Value, Killer of Sheep, Silence Equals Death @ Saint Vitus
This is a stacked hardcore show all around, headlined by NYHC vets SubZero, who say this is “the ONLY Subzero show for the rest of 2019 and who knows how long after.” The bill also includes fellow NYHC vets No Redeeming Social Value, Boston’s Ramallah (ex-Blood For Blood), Killer of Sheep (ex-Battered Citizens), and newer NJHC band Silence Equals Death who take a lot of influence from the era of hardcore that the more veteran hc bands on the bill hail from.

Stranger Things @ Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement ParkTo promote the third season of Stranger Things, the show has invaded Coney Island’s Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, with themed takeovers of some of the rides, including the Thunderbolt, Tilt-a-Whirl, Bumper Cars, Carousel, and Wonder Wheel itself, as well as Scoop’s Ahoy push carts selling treats. You can catch it through July 7 from noon – 6 PM.

Oddisee & Good Compny, 47SOUL, Narcy @ Prospect Park Bandshell
As mentioned above, the free BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival hosts two great hip hop shows this weekend, this being the second. It’s headlined by DC underground rap icon Oddisee (with his backing band Good Compny), who is usually very prolific but hasn’t released anything in a while. Still, his fruitful career has birthed plenty of great music for him to pull from at this show.

Gifts From Enola, Gates, Constants, Glassing @ Saint Vitus
Two members of heavy post-rock act Gifts From Enola are now mostly busy with their newer post-hardcore band Florida Man, but Gifts From Enola returned from hibernation to play Belgium’s Dunk! Festival last month, and will now play this NYC one-off. There’s a great list of openers too, including the likeminded, long-running Boston band Constants, NJ atmospheric emo band Gates, and Austin blackened post-hardcore band Glassing.

Oh, Such A HUGE Show, Oh! @ The Bell House
This is a special benefit edition of “Oh, Such a HUGE Show, Oh!” with proceeds going to The Young Center For Immigrant Children’s Rights. The lineup of comedians is pretty killer, with Aparna Nancherla, Emmy Blotnick, Josh Gondelman, Conner O’Malley, Ziwe Fumudoh, Josh Sharp, The Lucas Brothers, and Anna Drezen

SUNDAY, JULY 7

Joe Bataan @ Union Pool (Summer Thunder)
Much like Sun Ra Arkestra, Latin soul king Joe Bataan can fill much much bigger spaces than Union Pool’s backyard patio, but he plays their free Summer Thunder series every year and it’s a total party.

Convulse, Embalmer, Immortal Suffering @ Brooklyn Bazaar
Finnish death metal vets Convulse were initially around for a few years in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and then their career got a boost when Relapse reissued their 1992 debut World Without God in 2010. Convulse reunited two years later, released two albums (2013’s Evil Prvails and 2016’s Cycle of Revenge), and now they’re working on a new album again. But first, they’ll play World Without God in full at this exclusive East Coast one-off.

Mal Devisa, Gods Wisdom. guests @ Sunnyvale
One-woman band Mal Devisa plays shows with just a bass and her voice, and she’s insanely talented at both of those things and you just have to see it for yourself to fully experience the power of her music.

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